Forever Identical
by elhalfling
Summary: Elladan and Elrohir have always been content being twins-or have they?


The Rivendell Chronicles: Forever Identical Characters: Elladan, Elrohir, Celebrían, Elrond, Glorfindel, Erestor, Arwen, Ashiaro Summary: Elladan and Elrohir have always been content with being twins-or have they?  
  
(A/N: I decided to write this after reading a section in my sister's biology book that basically said that identical twins can be considered clones of one another. This statement got me thinking about how it must feel...)  
  
(Assumption: Elrond Celebrían Elladan Elrohir Arwen = Family. Glorfindel Erestor= Close family friends. A/N: Ashiaro is an Elf of Rivendell who is just a bit older than the twins.)  
  
The small, dimly lit room was full of happiness and life as Celebrían held her newborn daughter in her arms, rocking slowly. Her dark hair was tied back, out of her face, and she was dressed in but a gown of a beautiful silvery-white color. Her soft voice whispered a praise to the Eru and the Valar for giving her a beautiful little girl, whom she and Elrond had named Arwen.  
  
Elrond walked silently into the bedroom where his wife sat, cradling their daughter, tears of joy in his eyes. Few knew how emotional he really was, something he preferred to keep to himself and his close friends and family. He removed his cloak as he entered the small room. As he sat down on a chair beside Celebrían's bed, his deep, grave voice joined hers in song. The combination of the voices was absolutely beautiful, something that Rivendell had rarely heard before.  
  
Elladan and Elrohir raced through Rivendell, anxious to hide from Glorfindel. A game of hide-and-seek was happening, and the identical twins were enthralled with the fact of how well they could hide from Glorfindel.  
  
Dressed in identical robes, there were few, outside of the family, in all of Rivendell who could truly tell them apart. Glorfindel was one of the few. Both had hair past their shoulders, braided neatly back, though Elrohir's was almost always neater than his brother's. The only way anyone could tell them apart by looking at them was the fact that one of Elladan's braids was off-centered, which amused Elrohir greatly.  
  
"Come on, Elrohir!" whispered Elladan, the older and more athletic of the twins. He yanked his brother's arm, pulling Elrohir into the library, one of the worst hiding places in all of Rivendell, but also one of the best at the same time. The library would be the last place Glorfindel would look for the twins, as it was one of the easiest places to find people in. No other Elves were to be seen, except for Ashiaro, who was working on school lessons. He wouldn't bother disturbing the twins, even if he wasn't doing his lessons.  
  
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Elrohir replied in a slightly louder voice. He sat down next to his brother in the small corner of the library, right next to their father's study. These days, Elrond was rarely to be found in the small room that was filled with old scrolls and messy stacks of papers, as he was constantly with Celebrían, his wife, and their daughter, Arwen.  
  
Elladan shoved his hand over Elrohir's face. "Quiet!" he said in a loud voice, but it was too late. A hand reached in their direction and both of the identical brothers had the exact same thought: Glorfindel! Indeed, it was the blonde Elf, who had come to find them.  
  
"Well, well, what have we here? Two young Elves, hiding in a library, on a beautiful morning. You don't want more school lessons, do you?" came Glorfindel's voice. A smile appeared on his face, and he helped both of the identical twins to their feet.  
  
"Please don't give us any school lessons, Glorfy!" exclaimed Elladan. He held up his hands in protest against the blonde Elf.  
  
Glorfindel shook his head, rolling his eyes at the twins. They had this incredible talent to amuse him on any given day, despite circumstances. "All right, Elladan," he said, shaking a finger mockingly at the older of the twins. "No school lessons today."  
  
Elladan's face brightened up, relieved that there was no school that day. He jumped into Glorfindel's arms and gave the bewildered Elf a hug. "Thanks, Glorfy!" he said. "Can we practice with swords?"  
  
Glorfindel shook his head. "It is raining outside, Elladan," he said. "Your adar does not want you and Elrohir to catch cold in the wet weather."  
  
"And neither does Naneth," said Elrohir. "I'm going to our room." He walked out of the library and down the hall to the room that he and Elladan shared. Opening the door, he sat down on the top bunk, his bed. He removed his dark hair out of his braids, wanting to look unlike his brother for at least one moment of his entire life. He didn't exactly dislike being a twin, but rather just got annoyed with it at times.  
  
A hand knocked gently on the door to the room that Elladan and Elrohir shared. "Elrohir, please let me in," came the voice, a stern, but loving voice.  
  
"Yes, Ada-nin," said Elrohir. He climbed down from his bed and opened the door. Elrond was standing just outside the doorway. His face was slightly upset, but not past reckoning. The young elf had seen his adar much more upset many times before. Something was different, however, something that the young Elrohir could not determine. "Ada," he burst out. "I don't want to be a twin anymore!"  
  
"Elrohir," came Elrond's voice. He sat down on the bottom bunk. He laid a hand on his son's shoulder. "I need to talk to you about something very important. Something that I should have talked to you about before, but I didn't."  
  
"What is it, Ada?" asked Elrohir. He climbed up onto the bed and sat in his father's lap.  
  
Elrond let out a sigh. "Ionn-nin," Elrond placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "I need to talk to you about being a twin."  
  
Elrohir sighed. He had known this talk had been coming. "Yes, Ada," he said. He had dreaded this talk since when he was young, even though he liked being a twin-most of the time.  
  
Elrond could sense his son did not want to talk, but this was important. "Did you know that your Ada is a twin?" he asked. He knew that Glorfindel had told the twins about he and Elros, but this would really be a good time to find out if Elrohir had been paying attention during history lessons.  
  
Elrohir nodded. "Yes, Ada, Glorfy told us," he said. "One day in our history lessons. It was a rainy day, and we asked to hear a story about you, so he told us. Will you tell me a story about Gil-galad?"  
  
Elrond chuckled to see his younger son asking for yet another story. "Glorfindel tells good stories," said Elrond. "Perhaps he will, if you ask him."  
  
"But Ada!" said Elrohir, pouting. "I want to hear a story from you! Glorfy's stories are always the same."  
  
"Maybe later, Elrohir," said Elrond. He sighed. It was so easy for the young elves to change the subject in a moment's notice-or less than that. "Your Naneth and I have been watching you carefully because it seems like something has been bothering you. Would you like to talk about it?" Elrond decided that this was the best way to approach the talk.  
  
"Ada, I don't like being a twin," Elrohir confessed in a calm manner, unlike his earlier outburst. "Everybody calls me by the wrong name and I get in trouble for things that Elladan does."  
  
"I know," said Elrond. "Believe me, I know." Growing up, being a twin had never been easy for him. He and Elros had fought more than even he could remember, something that he regretted to that very day. Oftentimes, their parents would have to pull a screaming Elros off of his brother or vice versa. More often than not, the identical twins could have been found fighting or arguing with one another. "Elrohir, but can you think of anything good about having a twin brother?" Elrond asked.  
  
Elrohir thought for a moment, his brow wrinkling as he tried to remember the last time that he and Elladan had been really close friends or had a fun time together. After a minute, he shook his head. "No, Ada," said the younger Elf. "I cannot think of anything." All sincerity was in his voice as he spoke these words.  
  
Elrond was silent for a moment, reflecting on his own memories from his childhood. Although he and Elros fought, his brother was always there for him when they were young. When he was scared at night, his brother would come over to his bed and tell him that everything would be all right. When their mother and father left Middle-earth, Elros was there for him, a constant companion during those years. In all truth, he missed his brother. A tear rolled down his face and he took a deep breath, trying to keep more tears from coming.  
  
"Ada, are you okay?" said Elrohir after seeing his father. Rarely had he seen his father cry and the young elf was not used to it.  
  
Elrond nodded. "You will understand in time," he said, still fighting back the tears that threatened to burst out of his eyes and flow down his face at any moment. He placed his hand on Elrohir's shoulder, and then left the room.  
  
About a week later...  
  
Elladan and Elrohir raced through the woods just outside of Rivendell. They had been there several times, sometimes with their father or Glorfindel, and sometimes with Elf Scouts, an organization put on by some of the older Elves of Rivendell, wanting to teach the younger ones about the environment and how to survive in the wild and so forth. A similar program was in Mirkwood, on the advice of Thranduil, and it had been around since he was a young child. The woods outside of Rivendell were thickly planted with tall trees, much like much of Mirkwood, but there were no giant spiders, at least none that anyone knew of. The leaves made the dirt path, winding through the trees, dark and hard to see. A sinister cry echoed throughout the woods.  
  
"Elladan!" cried Elrohir, racing after his brother. "It's getting late! Ada and Ammë will be wondering where we are!" It was too late. He had lost his brother. And all because Elladan ran faster than he. Elrohir sat down next to a tree and started to cry. Tears flowed down his face as he worried that he and his brother were lost. They had been lost before, but they were always together, so Elrohir always had someone.  
  
He closed his eyes. He was lost. Away from Elladan. He remembered when they had fought with each other last week. He had said he didn't want a twin. Even though he had not said it to Elladan, he still felt guilty. He also remembered the time when he and Elladan had fought during school lessons with Glorfindel about a month ago and Glorfindel had started crying because of it. He felt guilty about that, too, even though Elladan had started the fight.  
  
"What have I done?" he whispered to himself. He regretted telling Ada that he did not want to be a twin. He knew it made his father sad, very sad. He pulled his cloak in towards his body, wishing he had someone else to sit with him, someone to keep him comfortable, someone could be his friend forever. Someone like Elladan.  
  
He sat there for what seemed like an eternity, while he was sure his brother was running ahead of him. He felt sorry for himself that he could not run as fast as Elladan, but also felt sorry for his brother. Sometimes, Elladan struggled in their school lessons, especially history and writing. He never did pay attention during class, especially if Glorfindel was teaching them. Glorfindel. The blonde Elf always knew what to do. He had come up with more things that Elrohir could count to keep he and his brother busy on rainy mornings, especially rainy Saturday mornings. Sitting there, thinking, he suddenly had an idea. A brilliant idea.  
  
Elrond paced back and forth uneasily. It was late, and neither of the twins had returned from their adventure yet. That afternoon, he had given Elladan permission for both to go and explore the forest surrounding Rivendell, but he had regretted it.  
  
"Cele," he said, using his pet name for his wife. "Have you seen either of the twins?" He sat down on the bed next to her, toying with one of his braids nervously.  
  
Celebrían shook her head slowly. "I thought they were with Glorfindel in the forest," she said in a soft voice. She rocked Arwen in her arms gently. Noticing her husband's glance out the window, she asked, "Elrond, dear, is something wrong?"  
  
Elrond shook his head slowly. He really didn't want Celebrían to worry about the twins, if he could help it. Celebrían raised an eyebrow, as if she didn't believe her husband. "All right," he said. "It's getting late, and neither Elladan nor Elrohir has asked for dinner yet. They know we always have dinner together as a family on Saturdays."  
  
Celebrían nodded. "Perhaps you should ask others if they have seen the twins," she suggested.  
  
Elrond stood up. He removed his outer cloak, now only wearing his shorter, inner one, along with a tunic and leggings. "I'll go find Erestor," he said. "Perhaps he will be willing to help." He walked out of the room and down towards the kitchen, where Erestor was nearly always found.  
  
Unlike normal, the kitchen was not bustling with noise and confusion today. Erestor was humming softly to himself, a song that was constantly being heard throughout the Hall of Fire. It was almost peaceful, in a sense, and Elrond could have been content, if he had not been so worried about the twins.  
  
"Elrond," said a voice behind him. The peredhel spun around to see who was speaking. "Have you seen the twins?"  
  
Elrond shook his head and worry passed through his mind. "I thought they were with you, Glorfindel," he said.  
  
Glorfindel shook his head. "No," he said. "They are not with me, but I'll be glad to help you look for them." Elrond sighed and put his hand to his forehead. He silently offered up a quick prayer to Illuvatar and all the Valar that Elladan and Elrohir were safe. "Is anything the matter?" Glorfindel asked.  
  
"No," he said, but he was lying. He was full of concern for the twins, especially Elrohir. Elladan had mastered the forest through Elf Scouts, but Elrohir still struggled to find his way if he should somehow get lost.  
  
"You're not telling the truth, Elrond," said Glorfindel. Elrond should have known better than to assume that his friend would think everything was fine. Even though Glorfindel was a bit slow at times, he still had a pretty decent idea what was going on.  
  
Elrond walked out of the kitchen. "Let's look for them in the forest," he said. He put on his green cloak, a gift from Thranduil last time he visited Mirkwood, which was several years ago. He fastened it around his shoulders, tying the string in a firm knot. He also grabbed his dagger, fashioned by the Noldorin Elves during the First Age, though he rarely used it.  
  
"Aye," said Glorfindel. He put his grey cloak over his tunic and grabbed the hilt of his sword, but Elrond laid his hand on it first.  
  
"Swords are of no use here," he said. Elrond walked out of the main building of Rivendell, outside into the cold and darkness of the night. Glorfindel followed, heavy-hearted. The search for the young Elves had begun.  
  
"Elrohir!" called a voice from behind a tree. A red-cloaked Elf busily searched the forest for any signs of his twin brother. He knew that his brother was more easily lost than he was, and felt sorry for Elrohir, even though earlier he did not. He was remorseful of what he did earlier, his actions caused by merely a simple misunderstanding between he and his brother-or was it?  
  
Elladan didn't know. He didn't care. All he knew was that he needed to find Elrohir before it was too late. Whenever he had needed someone to talk to, Elrohir had been there for him. Sure, they had argued more than anyone else in Rivendell, with the exception of Glorfindel and Erestor, of course, but that did not matter. He wished that he and Elrohir were safe, or at least together, instead of separated in the darkness of the night.  
  
"What have you done?" he asked himself. In all truth, he didn't know. Elrohir would know, he told himself silently, no words coming from his mouth. As he walked, he pulled his cloak inwards towards his body, shivering from the chilly night air. The wind blew his braids into his face.  
  
There was no answer, no reply to ease his thoughts, to comfort him. Only the wind whistled through the trees. Despite all warnings not to, he kept walking through the woods, still looking for his brother. He was not looking where he was going.  
  
"Ouch!" he exclaimed as he tripped over a rock. Slowly, he bent down to see if it was a decent rock for his rock collection. As he looked more closely, it was deep blue in colour, something that was unnatural for any stone found on the ground in the woods. In fact, it looked like the one that Elrohir always carried with him. Elladan had a red one identical to it, but it was at home. In Rivendell. Where he wasn't.  
  
Maybe the stone would lead him to Elrohir. Perhaps Elrohir was leaving a trail of clues to follow, like one of their games. On rainy Saturday mornings, oftentimes, Glorfindel would hide a surprise for them somewhere in Rivendell, and give them clues to lead them there. It was one of his favourite games. Wondering if his twin was thinking the same thing as he was-and they often were, he decided to pretend that it was one of Glorfindel's games.  
  
He turned his attention to the ground, where Elrohir would most likely hide things. He searched carefully, but could not find anything. Sighing to himself, he stared upwards into the trees.  
  
Elrohir sighed. It had been quite a while since they had played the game on a rainy Saturday morning, and he hoped his twin remembered it. The last time it had been played, Elladan had gotten tired of it and quit in the middle of the game.  
  
"You have tried," he told himself. In addition to his blue stone, he had also left several things, sure for Elladan to recognize as his, like his hair tie and various items from the pockets of his cloak.  
  
"Ouch!" he heard a voice in the distance. Though he could hardly hear it, it sounded familiar, comforting in a sense. He turned his head towards the sound of the voice, hardly able to contain his excitement.  
  
"Elladan?" he said in wonder. Slowly, he stood up, his feet and legs sore for sitting down in the same position for so long. He didn't care if his toes were tingling from slight loss of circulation in his feet. He ran through the trees as fast as he could, running towards the figure in the distance, an elf or human silhouetted against the almost set sun. Not sure of who it was, he ran over to the figure and embraced him.  
  
"It is okay," he said. "Elrohir, it's me." Elladan returned his brother's embrace. It had seemed like an eternity since they had seen each other.  
  
"Elladan," whispered Elrohir. "Let's go home. To Rivendell." Elladan nodded in agreement with his brother.  
  
"Elladan, Elrohir," Ashiaro said. It was late in the night, and Elrond had not yet returned to Rivendell. He handed each of the twins a blanket, helping them wrap up. "Ada-Elrond is not back yet."  
  
"Where is he?" asked Elladan. He held the blanket close to him, glad to be back home once again.  
  
Ashiaro twiddled with one of his braids. "He and Glorfindel went into the forest to look for you," he said. "They were very worried about the two of you." The two of you, thought Elrohir. This was the phrase that had begun to drive him nearly crazy, as everyone in Rivendell seemed to refer to he and Elladan as exactly alike.  
  
Elladan turned to his brother. "I hope Ada and Glorfy are not too worried about us," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper as he spoke.  
  
A minute passed, and Elrohir nudged his brother in the ribs. "Don't think they are anymore," he said. He turned to face the doors of the Great Hall. Two Elves, recognizable as Elrond and Glorfindel, stood in the doorway. Neither looked pleased.  
  
"Ada!" Without even looking at each other, both twins ran towards their father and gave him a hug. Identical smiles looked up at Elrond, in pure innocence.  
  
Elrond sighed. He couldn't be upset with them. They were learning, and he realized it was important. The lesson would have to be learnt one time or another, and it was better learnt sooner, rather than later. He placed a hand, one on each other their heads, and knelt down next to his sons.  
  
"Do you realize how worried we were about you?" he asked. His grey eyes were full of both concern and relief. He hoped they had learnt their lessons.  
  
"Yes, Ada," said Elrohir, looking down at the ground in shame.  
  
"We know," Elladan finished for him. Unlike Elrohir, he looked at Elrond as he spoke. "But, Ada," he said after a moment. "Why were you so worried? We were just playing in the-" He was cut off by Elrohir putting his hand over his twin's mouth.  
  
"Let Ada speak," he said in a whisper. This brought giggles from both twins. Elrond shook his head slowly. Elladan and Elrohir would always be themselves, despite what anyone else may think. Each would be a different individual, even if no one else could notice it.  
  
"Elladan," he said. He turned towards his older son. "Your mother would like to speak with you for a few minutes."  
  
"Yes, Ada," said Elladan. With a quick smile, he ran off to find Celebrían, who was in the bedroom that she and Elrond shared.  
  
Elrond took Elrohir into his arms. "Come with Ada," he said. He carried his younger son in his arms, as he had once done every night to bed. He walked slowly, humming softly, in the general direction of his study, a place where none would dare enter, save with Elrond's permission.  
  
The study was a small room, with papers, books and scrolls everywhere. A piece that he was working on lay open on the desk on the top of everything else. His pen lay in the ink well in the corner of his desk. Elrond sat down in his chair, elegantly carved with a high backing. Elrohir was still on his lap. The young elf looked at his father, grey eyes sparkling through with silver.  
  
"Ionn-nin," Elrond began. He held his son close to him, silently offering up a praise to Illuvatar that both twins had been found and were safe. "Did you learn your lesson?"  
  
Elrohir thought for a moment. He nodded. "Yes, Ada-nin," he said. Even though he knew it was difficult, being a twin was well worth the effort. He and Elladan would never get along perfectly, but it was comforting to have his brother around. He didn't say anything more.  
  
Elrond understood. He had learnt the same thing, a difficult lesson for him, long ago. He only held his younger son close to his chest; his steady breathing put the younger elf soon to sleep.  
  
"Tomorrow will be another day," Elrond whispered as he stood up. He carried his son to bed. Looking on the lower bunk, he noticed that Elladan was already fast asleep. "Good night, you two," he said with a smile. Silently, he walked out of the room, down the hall and into the room that he shared with Celebrían. "Oh, Elrond," she said. Carefully, she placed Arwen down in her bed, right next to theirs. "They are growing up."  
  
Elrond changed out of his robes into a simple tunic and climbed into the bed next to his wife. "Yes," he said. "They are." He kissed Celebrían on the forehead before closing his eyes to sleep. The events of the long day had worn him out, but it was well worth the effort. So was being a twin. In his heart, he was certain that both of his sons knew this.  
  
Epilogue:  
  
Elrohir dipped his pen in the inkwell on his desk and wrote:  
  
Dear Journal, I am glad that I am a twin. Ada said twins are special. I never want Elladan to know this, but I am glad we are identical.  
  
"What's that?" a voice asked. Elrohir turned to find a face identical to his own.  
  
"Elladan!" Elrohir's voice was upset, but not abnormally so. It was useless to try and hide his thoughts from Elladan; his brother knew almost everything. Like Ada.  
  
Elladan opened his mouth to apologize, but Elrohir had already pinned him on his back. Both elves rolled about on the floor until a voice said,  
  
"Enough! You two are hopeless!" At the same time, as if it had been planned, both twins glanced upwards to find Glorfindel. The blonde Elf raised an eyebrow at them.  
  
"Sorry, Glorfy," they said in unision, glad to be twins. 


End file.
